


Of Ambition, Expansion, and War

by cannibaljoke



Series: Of Magic and Peaky Blinders [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slytherin, also a subtle mention of, as is Grindelwald, basically in which tommy is a wizard and awfully good at potions, but he is mentioned even more subtly than slytherin, mentioned in passing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 01:30:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9267668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cannibaljoke/pseuds/cannibaljoke
Summary: Another thing Tommy puts to good use in his endeavours is his ambition. Tommy has always been ambitious and he has never had any problems using whatever means necessary to get what he wants (those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends, Tommy thinks and praises himself for being one of the cunning folk).





	

Tommy Shelby does not spend much time thinking about the past. Mostly because thinking about the past always end with thinking about the war, and Tommy has enough nightmares without purposely thinking of the tunnels and all that happened there, thank you very much. One could even argue that Tommy’s life has been split into two parts: before the war, and after the war; one could also argue (and some have argued) that Tommy himself has been split into two different people: the Tommy before the war, and the Tommy after the war. It might even have some truth to it. Alas, time is (mostly) not rewindable and no one will ever know who Tommy would have been without the war. 

So, Tommy does not think about what could have been, he does not daydream about futures he could have, instead he keeps moving forward. It does not do well to dwell on the past, Tommy knows, but not learning from the past does equally little good. Tommy puts both parts of those words of wisdom to use in his business, both the legal and the illegal part of it. He learns from his mistakes and those of others, but he does not waste too much time scolding himself for it, when something goes wrong (and things inevitably do go wrong). 

Another thing Tommy puts to good use in his endeavours is his ambition. Tommy has always been ambitious and he has never had any problems using whatever means necessary to get what he wants (those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends, Tommy thinks and praises himself for being one of the cunning folk). Sometimes getting what he wants requires getting his hands dirty, sometimes it requires hitting the bottom to get back up again, and sometimes it requires a time of healing, because Tommy punched above his weight (told you so, Polly will then say and Tommy will roll his eyes). 

It is Tommy’s ambition that leads to his constant wishes to expand in all directions. Where others see trouble and tragedy, Tommy seems opportunity. This leads Tommy to Alfie Solomons and one would think Tommy is insanely lucky to have survived meeting Alfie. Alfie tells him as much and Tommy laughs (not because he is wrong, but because the luck Tommy has is mostly liquid, because Tommy Shelby seldom leaves things to chance). Tommy had gone to Alfie, not just to join forces with Alfie and his bakery, but also to try his luck in doing business with people even less savoury and more dangerous than Alfie Solomons could ever be (revolutionaries, some of them call themselves, even though Tommy thinks the word “fanatics” is a much better fit). 

Doing business with people even worse than Alfie is what led to Tommy storing his barrels in Alfie’s bakery. That in itself was incredibly dangerous (and stupid, Polly had said, stupid to let any muggles that close), but Tommy is good at making everything he stores in those barrels, has always been good at this kind of stuff, even at school. If Polly thinks that Tommy would leave anything that could decide to leave the barrels or destroy the barrels and seem unusual to unsuspecting and less than magical eyes, Polly is wrong. He takes calculated risks, Tommy reminds Polly one night, when she has finished yelling at him, and he rarely ever meets any of his buyers himself. 

Tommy’s new little business is going well, but it also attracts unwanted attention. Now he has more than just Inspector Campbell breathing down his neck, more than Campbell and Sabini combined (and, to think, Sabini had wondered why Tommy is not threatened by him), the Ministry is asking questions. Fortunately (or unfortunately, were one to side with the Ministry), Tommy has experience with wrapping government officials around his finger, he makes a few promises he will never keep and talks about how he is just selling some overpriced potionstuffs to unsuspecting buyers, and as the Ministry cannot prove anything, Tommy gets to go about his business with no hindrances.

There are few things Tommy finds as annoying as the Ministry snooping around, which it does more than should be allowed. One of the things he finds almost just as annoying, however, is getting beat up. It is annoying and unpleasant in so many ways that, if Tommy liked to complain, he would complain about it all the time. Firstly, getting beat up tends to ruin his clothes (blood on the collar, mud and whatever else is on the ground on his trousers) and that means either getting new clothes or doing everything possible to get the stains out afterwards. Secondly, it just takes a lot of time, because most people who beat Tommy up want the satisfaction of seeing Tommy Shelby looking completely and utterly defenceless and broken. Thirdly, listening to Polly scolding him, while she rubs whatever ointment or potion is best for some injury or other, is so very tiring and repetitive (that should probably make him try to get beat up less, but as if that will ever happen). The fourth, last, and most unpleasant reason, why Tommy does not like getting beat up is that it reminds him of the war.

So, yes, Tommy Shelby does not spend much time thinking about the past. Mostly because thinking about the past always end with thinking about the war, and Tommy has enough nightmares, but sometimes it is necessary to think about the war. Sometimes, it is necessary for Tommy to think about the war and remind himself that he made it out, that he is still alive and kicking, and that he plans to stay that way for a long time (until he forgets how to brew Felix Felicis, Tommy has jokingly said without realising how true it might be).

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise for all spelling and/or grammatical errors, I wrote this in one sitting and without proofreading.


End file.
